Scaling responsible adoption of agentic AI
About the series
Just as generative AI was the AI innovation that took the last two years by storm, agentic AI systems are set to continue shaping the next phase of AI development and deployment in 2026.
Agentic AI systems—capable of autonomous decision-making across a variety of tasks—represent a step-change in how AI is embedded into products, services, and organisational workflows. Unlike previous AI innovations, agentic systems can plan, execute tasks independently, and coordinate with other agents to reshape entire workflows and fundamentally change how work is designed and managed.
Fleets of AI agents that can potentially coordinate tasks will reshape workflows and fundamentally change how organisations are structured and how work is designed and managed. For organisations that are able to leverage this technology, this opens huge opportunities. However, the increased use of agentic AI also raises critical questions around technical readiness, assurance, governance, organisational trust, workforce preparedness, and ethical deployment.
To shape a strong industry position on how industry can work together to help scale the responsible use of agentic AI systems, techUK’s AI and Data programme will be convening a four-part workshop series for members.
What the workshop series will explore
The workshops are open to techUK members working on the development, deployment, governance, and adoption of agentic AI. Each workshop will run as a 90 minute, in-person session hosted at techUK. Sessions will split thematically as follows:
Workshop 1: Industry best practices and routes for scaling agentic systems
18 February 2026
- Where is agentic AI being deployed successfully today and what real-world use cases exist across sectors?
- What technical approaches, orchestration platforms, and operating models are organisations using to implement multi-agent ecosystems effectively?
- What best practices are emerging for managing visibility, governance, and coordination across agentic systems?
- Is a combination of agentic AI and robotics the path to scaling the use of agentic systems and what barriers lie in the way of it?
Workshop 2: Organisational barriers and regulatory levers affecting agentic AI adoption
2 March 2026
- What organisational blockers exist to the successful scaling of agentic AI adoption and how can these blockers be addressed? (e.g. orchestration and agent management platforms to infrastructure and integration challenges)
- What regulatory or compliance factors could affect the pace or scope of deployment in the UK?
- What talent and skills are most critical for deploying and governing agentic systems at scale, and are organisations able to access or develop them?
- How do capital constraints — from upfront investment to ongoing compute and operational costs — affect the business case for scaling agentic AI?
- Are there areas where the AI Opportunities Action Plan, if adjusted, could further help support the scaling of agentic systems, and which further levers (funding, policy support, standards) could support faster adoption?
Workshop 3: Workforce preparedness, agentic AI, and the future of work
18 March 2026
- Does our workforce have the skills needed not just to analyse and responsibly use AI outputs, but to analyse, manage, and work alongside AI agents with decision-making capabilities?
- How can we best encourage responsible understanding and confidence in agentic AI in a way that can bolster its effective and safe use?
- How do we design work and working environments to augment human agency, and what does this mean for workforce trust and experience?
- What does the UK need to focus on to ensure our workforce benefits from agentic technologies while minimising disruption?
Workshop 4: Importance of ethics, governance, and accountability when using agentic AI
25 March 2026
- What novel concerns arise from delegating decision-making authority to autonomous agents, particularly around accountability and decision rights?
- How do we approach oversight in agentic systems? What does accountability look like when agents act autonomously, and are there appropriate guardrails?
- What do data consent, transparency, and automated decision-making (ADM) frameworks mean in an agentic AI world?
Following the sessions
Insights from the workshop series will feed into a short industry brief capturing how the tech sector views the opportunities, risks, and open questions facing agentic AI adoption.
This brief will:
- Provide practical guidance to support confident AI adoption, including a clear understanding of the risks, benefits and operating models involved
- Offer perspectives on emerging trends, opportunities to strengthen frameworks, discussions of regulatory devices, and how policy tools, including AI Opportunities Action Plan commitments, can help the UK sustain its global AI leadership in AI.
The goal of the brief is to map best practices on how to scale greater adoption, identify what issues may need to be overcome, identify where levers may be missing from current policy frameworks to support agentic AI adoption, and explore how to future-proof the UK for the next wave of agentic AI developments.
techUK’s AI and Data programme in 2026
techUK’s AI and Data programme is focused in 2026 on helping the UK seize the AI opportunity by turning vision into value – accelerating trusted real-world development and deployment of AI – to ensure the UK will lead on the next generation of AI technologies.
To get more involved, please reach out to Kir and Usman:
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi is the Head of AI and Data at techUK.
She holds over seven years of Government Affairs and Tech Policy experience in the US and UK. Kir previously headed up the regulatory portfolio at a UK advocacy group for tech startups and held various public affairs in US tech policy. All involved policy research and campaigns on competition, artificial intelligence, access to data, and pro-innovation regulation.
Kir has an MSc in International Public Policy from University College London and a BA in both Political Science (International Relations) and Economics from the University of California San Diego.
Outside of techUK, you are likely to find her attempting studies at art galleries, attempting an elusive headstand at yoga, mending and binding books, or chasing her dog Maya around South London's many parks.
- Email:
- [email protected]
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman joined techUK in January 2024 as Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence.
He leads techUK’s AI Adoption programme, supporting members of all sizes and sectors in adopting AI at scale. His work involves identifying barriers to adoption, exploring solutions, and helping to unlock AI’s transformative potential, particularly its benefits for people, the economy, society, and the planet. He is also committed to advancing the UK’s AI sector and ensuring the UK remains a global leader in AI by working closely with techUK members, the UK Government, regulators, and devolved and local authorities.
Since joining techUK, Usman has delivered a regular drumbeat of activity to engage members and advance techUK's AI programme. This has included two campaign weeks, the creation of the AI Adoption Hub (now the AI Hub), the AI Leader's Event Series, the Putting AI into Action webinar series and the Industrial AI sprint campaign.
Before joining techUK, Usman worked as a policy, regulatory and government/public affairs professional in the advertising sector. He has also worked in sales, marketing, and FinTech.
Usman holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a GDL and LLB from BPP Law School, and a BA from Queen Mary University of London.
When he isn’t working, Usman enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He also has a keen interest in running, reading and travelling.
techUK - Seizing the AI Opportunity
The UK is a global leader in AI innovation, development and adoption.
AI has the potential to boost UK GDP by £550 billion by 2035, making adoption an urgent economic priority. techUK and our members are committed to working with the Government to turn the AI Opportunities Action Plan into reality. Together we can ensure the UK seizes the opportunities presented by AI technology and continues to be a world leader in AI development.
Get involved: techUK runs a busy calendar of activities including events, reports, and insights to demonstrate some of the most significant AI opportunities for the UK. Our AI Hub is where you will find details of all upcoming activity. We also send a monthly AI newsletter which you can subscribe to here.
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Contact the team
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi is the Head of AI and Data at techUK.
She holds over seven years of Government Affairs and Tech Policy experience in the US and UK. Kir previously headed up the regulatory portfolio at a UK advocacy group for tech startups and held various public affairs in US tech policy. All involved policy research and campaigns on competition, artificial intelligence, access to data, and pro-innovation regulation.
Kir has an MSc in International Public Policy from University College London and a BA in both Political Science (International Relations) and Economics from the University of California San Diego.
Outside of techUK, you are likely to find her attempting studies at art galleries, attempting an elusive headstand at yoga, mending and binding books, or chasing her dog Maya around South London's many parks.
- Email:
- [email protected]
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman joined techUK in January 2024 as Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence.
He leads techUK’s AI Adoption programme, supporting members of all sizes and sectors in adopting AI at scale. His work involves identifying barriers to adoption, exploring solutions, and helping to unlock AI’s transformative potential, particularly its benefits for people, the economy, society, and the planet. He is also committed to advancing the UK’s AI sector and ensuring the UK remains a global leader in AI by working closely with techUK members, the UK Government, regulators, and devolved and local authorities.
Since joining techUK, Usman has delivered a regular drumbeat of activity to engage members and advance techUK's AI programme. This has included two campaign weeks, the creation of the AI Adoption Hub (now the AI Hub), the AI Leader's Event Series, the Putting AI into Action webinar series and the Industrial AI sprint campaign.
Before joining techUK, Usman worked as a policy, regulatory and government/public affairs professional in the advertising sector. He has also worked in sales, marketing, and FinTech.
Usman holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a GDL and LLB from BPP Law School, and a BA from Queen Mary University of London.
When he isn’t working, Usman enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He also has a keen interest in running, reading and travelling.
Sue Daley OBE
Sue Daley OBE
Sue leads techUK's Technology and Innovation work.
This includes work programmes on cloud, data protection, data analytics, AI, digital ethics, Digital Identity and Internet of Things as well as emerging and transformative technologies and innovation policy.
In 2025, Sue was honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the Technology Industry in the New Year Honours List.
She has been recognised as one of the most influential people in UK tech by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 Longlist and in 2021 was inducted into the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK Tech Hall of Fame.
A key influencer in driving forward the data agenda in the UK, Sue was co-chair of the UK government's National Data Strategy Forum until July 2024. As well as being recognised in the UK's Big Data 100 and the Global Top 100 Data Visionaries for 2020 Sue has also been shortlisted for the Milton Keynes Women Leaders Awards and was a judge for the Loebner Prize in AI. In addition to being a regular industry speaker on issues including AI ethics, data protection and cyber security, Sue was recently a judge for the UK Tech 50 and is a regular judge of the annual UK Cloud Awards.
Prior to joining techUK in January 2015 Sue was responsible for Symantec's Government Relations in the UK and Ireland. She has spoken at events including the UK-China Internet Forum in Beijing, UN IGF and European RSA on issues ranging from data usage and privacy, cloud computing and online child safety. Before joining Symantec, Sue was senior policy advisor at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Sue has an BA degree on History and American Studies from Leeds University and a Masters Degree on International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham. Sue is a keen sportswoman and in 2016 achieved a lifelong ambition to swim the English Channel.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 020 7331 2055
- Twitter:
- @ChannelSwimSue,@ChannelSwimSue
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Authors
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman joined techUK in January 2024 as Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence.
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi is the Head of AI and Data at techUK.
